Sena Minawatari, a 3rd-year at Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University who revealed in January that he had been diagnosed with malignant lymphoma in November, passed away on Feb. 19. He had just turned 21 two weeks earlier. Following the wishes of his family, Aoyama Gakuin announced the news on its team website on Feb. 21. Titled "In honor of the departure of our dear friend," the announcement read:
"We are saddened to announce that Sena Minawatari, part of our team for last year's Hakone Ekiden and this season's National University Ekiden, has passed away. He was an indispensable part of our team, and we would like to express our deepest gratitude and respect for his passion and the achievements it produced. We feel grief and loss at this sudden departure, and we will carry the memories we have with him in our hearts as we continue to move forward. He fought this illness until the very end, and we ask that his memory be looked upon with warmth of heart. Our heartfelt condolences. -- Aoyama Gakuin University Track and Field"
Aoyama Gakuin head coach Susumu Hara, 57, and other team staff learned of Minawatari's death on the evening of the 19th. The next morning Hara conveyed the news to the athletes and other team staff at their morning training session. Hara mourned Minawatari's loss, saying, "It was too soon."
With a bright and positive personality, Minawatari was a key part of the Aoyama Gakuin team chemistry. Last year as a 2nd-year he was one of the 16 athletes on Aoyama Gakuin's entry roster for the 100th Hakone Ekiden. Scheduled to run the Seventh Stage, he was swapped out for a substitute on race morning and did not run. But as a highly talented athlete Hara had high hopes for him, telling him, "You'll be a key part of our Day Two lineup next year at the 101st."
Immediately after Hakone last year, Hara persuaded him to run the Kumanichi 30 km Road Race at the start of February, a race that high-potential athletes from Aoyama Gakuin run every year. "Anyone who runs well at Kumanichi does well at Hakone the next year," Hara told him. "Put me in!" Minawatari replied immediately with a big smile. "30 km is a long way, but I'll do my best!" He lived up to those words, running 1:33:35 for 7th in his debut at the distance.
From there Minwatari was on a steady growth curve from the start of his 3rd year in April last year. In June he ran a 5000 m PB of 13:51.38, and his summer training went well enough that he was put on the entry roster for the Nov. 3 National University Ekiden. But shortly after that he started feeling unwell and left the team dormitory to be hospitalized. Just over 2 weeks after Aoyama Gakuin's win at the 101st Hakone Ekiden this year, he revealed his diagnosis on his social media.
Titling his post, "Even with cancer I'm aiming for Hakone," Minawatari wrote, "I was diagnosed with malignant lymphoma in November and am currently undergoing treatment for it." Expressing his strong will to recover, he wrote, "I want to keep a complete record of this process, from how it started to how rehabilitation goes, and share it with others. I want to share the positives I'm taking from this and how it is helping me grow as a person."
Hara included Minwatari remotely in a team meeting at the end of December right before Hakone. "He sat in on the meeting online from his hospital room," Hara said. "He told the rest of the team, 'Don't ever take the fact that you can run for granted. Good luck at the Hakone Ekiden.' We should have been the ones giving him our support, but he was the one giving it to us. There is no question that it was his strength that drove us to win."
Coach Hara had called Aoyama Gakuin's race plan for its title defense attempt at Hakone this year "Operation We Want to See You Again." The team had hoped to reunite and share their joy with Minawatari after Hakone, but after Minawatari publicly revealed his illness in mid-January Hara told the team, "Our race plan is not complete until Minawatari is back with us and feeling good again." Unfortunately, that hope did not come to be.
2025-26 team captain Asahi Kuroda learned of Minawatari's death on the 20th with the rest of the team, and as the only thing he could do he went ahead with his last track workout ahead of his marathon debut at this weekend's Osaka Marathon. Osaka was Minawatari's hometown, and Kuroda will give everything in his memory.
"Last October when I put together the entry roster for the National University Ekiden he was one of Aoyama Gakuin University's best 16," said Hara. "He was a candidate to be one of our starting members at Hakone this year. He said, 'Even if I've got cancer, I'm still aiming for Hakone,' and the whole team had his back. I thought that even if there wasn't enough time to do it in his 4th year, it could be doable in a 5th year, or 6th year. It's a great loss. It was too soon."
Translator's note: After Minawatari's death was announced to the media, Hara wrote on his Twitter account: "A far too early goodbye to a friend. Sena's bright, positive attitude and hard work ethic were treasures of our team. It was a privilege to have met you. I promise that I will pass on to future generations of our team that we were once fortunate enough to have had someone like you among us. I pray again for your soul to rest in peace."
Sena Minawatari - 2 Feb. 2004 - 19 Feb. 2025. Born in Toyonaka, Osaka. 178 cm, 60 kg. Joined Aoyama Gakuin University after graduating from Kandai Hokuyo H.S. in 2022. Entry member of Aoyama Gakuin's winning team at 100th Hakone Ekiden his 2nd year. PBs:
5000 m: 13:51.38
10000 m: 28:49.30
half marathon: 1:03:30
30 km: 1:33:35
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translated and edited by Brett Larner
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